There is a YouTube video of a child “playing Mass” during which 3-year-old Isaiah exuberantly exclaims, “Behold!” as he holds up the “host” and “chalice.” After tinkering around on the “altar” for a bit, he seems to forget his place, so he grabs the “host” and “chalice” again, raises them in the air, and exclaims, “Behold!” with no less enthusiasm than the first time. After watching Isaiah’s “Mass,” I noticed the priest at a Mass I attended paused for an uncharacteristically long time after this same part of the Eucharistic liturgy. Perhaps it was Isaiah who led me to notice…

The Vatican recently published a circular letter, "On the bread and wine for the Eucharist," sent to diocesan bishops at the request of Pope Francis. Dated June 15 -- the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ -- the letter was made public by the Vatican July 8. Because bread and wine for the Eucharist are no longer supplied just by religious communities, but "are also sold in supermarkets and other stores and even over the internet," bishops should set up guidelines, an oversight body and/or even a form of certification to help "remove any doubt about the…